Useful data objects, such as multimedia messages, are transmitted from a switching component, such as a server of a transmission service provider, to mobile stations, such as telecommunication devices. The switching component thereby serves as an exchange for a useful data object from a provider to a mobile station or between two mobile stations.
In the case of services, such as the multimedia messaging service (MMS) for example, useful data objects with a sizeable content are transmitted. MMS content comprises one or a number of elements, such as text, voice or image elements or video information, etc. The multimedia messaging service (MMS) is standardized by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) or the OMA (Open Mobile Alliance), successor organizations of the WAP Forum, and is already deployed in some networks, e.g. the mobile radio network. The multimedia messaging service specified by the 3GPP or OMA is able to switch and transmit multimedia messages to and from mobile stations.
Until now, useful data objects were transmitted in a network from a switching component to a mobile station in two steps. First the mobile station is notified by the switching component that a new useful data object is available for downloading on the switching component. The user of the mobile station can respond to the message in two ways. They can either reply with a confirmation that they have received the notification, or request the useful data object directly, by sending a delivery request for the useful data object to the switching component. In the first instance described, the useful data object remains on the switching component and can be requested later by the mobile station, as described in the second variant, i.e. with a delivery request from the mobile station to the switching component. After the delivery request has been sent, the switching component responds by transmitting the useful data object to the mobile station. This means that the user can choose between immediate downloading and downloading at a later time.
Every mobile station is assigned to a network operator in a locally defined communication network, generally within the boundaries of a country. This communication network is also referred to as the home network or home PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network). These are public, land-based mobile radio networks, in which the mobile station can register, to receive useful data objects or messages. The home PLMN is the area in which services are provided by network operators. The user has concluded an agreement with the network operator of the home PLMN or one of its contracting partners to use the communication network. Communication networks outside the home network are frequently referred to as external networks.
The receipt of useful data objects, e.g. MMS messages, in a home network is generally associated with costs. When the mobile station is operated in an external communication network, i.e. when roaming, the costs of receiving useful data objects can differ significantly from those in the home network. Roaming refers to the movement of the mobile station into a communication network outside the home network, i.e. the transfer of the mobile station into an external network. A common instance of this is so-called international roaming, when the corresponding communication networks are operated within the boundaries of a country. It is however also possible for the transfer between two communication networks to take place within one country. The receipt of a useful data object when roaming, i.e. in an external network, is frequently associated with significantly higher costs than the receipt of the same useful data object when the mobile station is registered in the home network of the user. The charges frequently vary significantly from communication network to communication network.
The user of a mobile station can choose to download the useful data object immediately or later. No distinction is made during receipt of a useful data object between whether the mobile station is registered in the home network or in another communication network. Many implementations are designed or can be configured such that on receipt of a notification, the mobile station automatically downloads the associated useful data object. The disadvantage here is that if, on receipt of a notification that a useful data object is available for downloading on a switching component, the user downloads the useful data object immediately, they incur high charges when they are in a communication network outside their home network. If the user decides to download later, for example when the mobile station has once again registered in the home network, said user must remember that there is still a useful data object to be retrieved on the switching component.